Single-hull oil tankers will soon be banned and waste ships are under close surveillance. The EU has toughened up safety rules to prevent accidents and pollution in Europe's waters.

A-Z: S for Sea

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15499630/J002-0056-EN.srt

It is possible to avoid disasters at sea.

Today single-hulled oil tankers  are banned,

in order to prevent accidents  and pollution at sea.

It took only a few hours for the oil tanker  to sink off the French coast.

It took years to regain  a natural, balanced ecosystem.

These big black pellets are drops of oil.

Birds coming into contact with this  viscous substance will most probably die.

150,000 marine birds died following  the sinking of the tanker Erika in 1999.

400km of coast were cleaned up by  hundreds of volunteers.

Oysters producers  lost everything that year.

These disasters are not fated  to happen and can be avoided.

The EU has decided  to establish stricter rules.

Ship owners and toxic waste transporters  will just have to follow the rules.

Since January 2010 single-hull oil tankers  have been banned in European waters.

These ships are not made  to handle sea storms.

spilling 37 000 tonnes  of fuel into the sea.

Double-hull ships are safer for  the transport of hazardous products.

Two hulls make them more resistant to  extreme weather and rusting.

In a few years only these ships  will be allowed to sail in EU waters.

Another way to improve maritime safety  is to step up checks in ports and at sea.

Too many waste ships like this one  still sail to and fro across the seas.

The EU has taken a harder line: any ship  considered too old or too damaged

could be permanently banned  from entering ports.

The EU has also set up  the SafeSeaNet network.

This high-performance IT system allows  constant monitoring of maritime traffic.

Rescue teams can arrive quickly  to deal with problems.

Despite these safety measures,  risks will always exist

It is up to EU Member States to minimise  the impact of these disasters.